On Thursday, April 23, British Technology Minister Ian Murray publicly revealed in the House of Commons that Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba had listed for sale sensitive health data leaked from the UK.
Murray stated that the leaked data came from the UK Biobank. They had informed the British government on Monday, the 20th, that their data had been split into three online forms and put up for sale on Alibaba’s website.
The data from the UK Biobank comes from many volunteers who share their health information. The institution claims to be the world’s largest repository of health, lifestyle, and biological data used to track people’s long-term health conditions as they age. The data collection includes direct medical data such as MRI scans and biomarkers, as well as participants’ self-reported lifestyle information.
After the UK government requested Alibaba to take down the data, Murray disclosed that the data has been deleted.
He mentioned that the data does not contain participants’ names, addresses, or contact information.
However, the UK Biobank warned in a statement that some participants who have disclosed genealogy information may be identified by cross-referencing with other data.
Alibaba has not provided any comment on the issue.
Murray stated that the researchers who leaked the information are from three institutions with access permission to the data from the UK Biobank, but he did not disclose the names of these three institutions. The data appears to have not been compromised through hacking or theft.
Sir Rory Collins, CEO and Chief Research Officer of the UK Biobank, said in a statement that the data breach clearly violated the contracts signed between these three institutions and the UK Biobank, and their access permissions have been immediately suspended along with their academic institutions.
He also added that the UK Biobank has suspended its platform operations and is implementing further security measures.
In 2025, The Guardian reported concerns from the UK’s MI5 about Chinese researchers accessing data from the UK Biobank, but the British government ultimately approved the arrangement.
(Adapted from reporting by Bloomberg)